Protective headgear

ABSTRACT

A protective shell for use within a cap such as a baseball cap and which incorporates elongate slots which open into the back of the shell and extend forwards towards the front of the shell. The presence of the slots, in conjunction with the inherent flexibility of the shell material, enable the lateral sections of the shell to move inwards and outwards to accommodate a range of head sizes.

[0001] This invention relates to protective headgear and in particularto a shell for fitting in a soft headcap to provide a degree ofprotection from impacts.

[0002] It is known to fit protective shells made, for example of hardplastics material, into soft caps, such as baseball caps, to provide adegree of head protection whilst allowing the user to wear a reasonablystylish cap, as distinct from a utilitarian helmet. Such modified capsprovide a limited amount of head protection, suitable for sites wherethe risk of injury is relatively low.

[0003] Known shells of this type are generally of a fixed size and anobject of the present invention is to provide a design which isadjustable to different head sizes. It will be appreciated that a goodfit on the head is necessary if the protection provided by the modifiedcap is to be as effective as possible.

[0004] To achieve this, a first aspect of the invention provides thatthe shell is formed with a pair of slots, one on each side of the shell,each slot opening into the back side of the shell and extending in agenerally back to front direction towards the front of the shell, andbeing such as to enable the shell material on its opposite sides tomutually move, and thus alter the effective size of the shell.

[0005] In a second aspect of the invention the slots open into the frontside of the shell and extend in a generally front to back directiontowards the back of the shell. However, for convenience in explanation,the first (and preferred) aspect of the invention will be assumed in thefollowing description. Thus, in the following, the same comments applyto the second aspect with the substitution of front for back andvice-versa, where appropriate.

[0006] Protective shells for use with soft caps are usually of a concavebowl-like shape, being slightly longer from front to back than from sideto side, in order to accommodate the shape of the human head.

[0007] The shell of the invention is effectively divided by the slotsinto different regions, together making up the concave shape mentionedabove: a top region extends when worn, back to front over the top of thehead and merges into a front region which extends, when worn, across thefront of the head, and two lateral regions extending, when worn, back tofront across respective sides of the head and merging into the frontregion. The slots separate the respective lateral regions from the topregion.

[0008] Thus the lateral regions are joined via the front region to thetop region and it is the flexibility of this connection which allows adegree of movement between the respective lateral regions and the topregion, whilst retaining the generally concave bowl-shape of the shellduring such adjustment. In this way the shell can cater for differentsizes of head and still maintain both comfort and a degree ofprotection. In practice, the shell may be manufactured in the smallestsize in the range and, if it is fitted over a larger head, will expandto fit such a head by a widening of the slots, this being possiblebecause of the aforementioned flexibility of the joint between thelateral regions and the top region. Alternatively the shell may bemanufactured for an intermediate size in the range so that it can expandand contract as needed to cater for the full range of head sizes.

[0009] The deeper the slots, the less wide is the rear region and thisincreases flexibility. However, if the slots are too long, the overallstructural integrity of the shell is compromised. The slots arepositioned running back to front along the shell and with the top regionin between. The slots should not be too close together since the topregion is the principal protective region, and needs to be wide enoughto provide effective protection to the head. It is felt that the bestposition for the slots is well away from that part of the shell whichprotects the crown of the head, and in fact is at that part of the shellwhich protects the upper side parts of the head. The vulnerable sideparts of the head are protected by the lateral regions on each side.

[0010] The slots are preferably designed around the impact zonesspecified in international safety standard EN812. This will be discussedin more detail below.

[0011] The shell is conveniently made of plastics material, for exampleby injection moulding. Typical materials include ABS, polypropylene, PVCand polyethylene. The thickness of the shell wall is typically in therange 1 mm to 4 mm, with 1.5 mm being the currently preferred thickness.Decrease in thickness will save weight, and therefore improve comfort,but at the expense of strength.

[0012] In order that the invention may be better understood, anembodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only andwith reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a protective shell made accordingto the invention;

[0014] FIGS. 2 to 4 are, respectively, side, top and front views of theprotective shell of FIG. 1; and

[0015]FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the impact zones.

[0016] The protective shell shown in the drawings is designed for abaseball cap. However, the design could readily be modified for othercap styles. The shell is fitted inside the cap and in order to retain itin place, the cap may be modified by the provision of suitableattachment means (not shown) such as velcro pads, snap buttons orpockets.

[0017] The shell comprises a thin-walled structure 1 of ABS plasticsmaterial, and has a generally concave shape suitable for fitting over ahuman head. The rim 2 of the shell is lower at the front 3 and is raisedat the back 4. The sides of the shell are cut away at 5 to giveclearance for earmuffs, should these also need to be worn.

[0018] The shell is divided into four sections by a pair of elongateslots 6 which open into the back 4 of the shell and extend forwards overa greater proportion of the front-to-back length of the shell. One slot6 is formed at a corresponding position at each side of the shell. Thefour sections can be considered as a top section 7 which extends fromthe rim 2 at the back, forwards by a length approximately equal to thatof the slots 6, a front section 8 which extends from the rim at thefront 3 backwards to merge into the remaining sections, and two lateralsections 9,10.

[0019] The existence of the slots 6, and the inherent flexibility of theshell material enable the lateral sections to effectively move inwardsand outwards to accommodate smaller and larger head sizes, due to thehinge action which is created at the distal ends of the slots 6 betweenthe various sections of the shell. The width of the slots is set to givesufficient lateral clearance for movement of the lateral sections 9,10under the top section 7; this is particularly relevant to enable theshell to fit smaller head sizes. The slots also provide a degree ofventilation which improves comfort when worn for extended periods.

[0020] The shell may also be lined with a compressible material, such asa foam material (not shown), in order to improve comfort. Typically thiswill be PU foam adhered with a Velcro strip and having a thickness inthe range 2 mm to 16 mm. The current preferred thickness is 12 mm.

[0021] It is possible to design the shell in order to give protection tothe wearer which meets the impact and penetration requirements ofinternational safety standard EN812. FIG. 5 illustrates the circularimpact zones 11 specified in this standard projected onto a plan view ofthe shell 1. As can be seen, the slots 6 are shaped so as to avoid theseimpact zones to thereby reduce as far as possible any disadvantageouseffect resulting from the presence of the slots. The slots arepositioned as high as possible in the shell, subject to the impactzones, in order to give the maximum ventilation effect. The presence ofslots 6 allows the design to accommodate with comfort a wide range ofhead sizes, for example sizes 50-65, in one product.

[0022] A cap fitted with the shell of the invention can be used in areaswhere there is a limited degree of hazard and avoids the need for theuser to wear an unfashionable helmet.

1. A shell for fitting within a headcap to provide a degree ofprotection from impacts, said shell being formed with a pair of slots,one on each side of the shell, each slot opening into the back side ofthe shell and extending in a generally back to front direction towardsthe front of the shell, and being such as to enable the shell materialon its opposite sides to mutually move, and thus alter the effectivesize of the shell.
 2. A shell as claimed in claim 1 being of a generallyconcave shape, longer from front to back than from side to side, inorder to accommodate the shape of the human head.
 3. A shell as claimedin claim 2 wherein the slots effectively divide the shell into differentregions, together making up said concave shape: a top region extending,when worn, back to front over the top of the head and merging into afront region which extends, when worn, across the front of the head andtwo lateral regions extending, when worn, back to front acrossrespective sides of the head and merging into the front region, andwherein each slot separates a respective lateral regions from the topregion.
 4. A shell as claimed in claim 3 wherein the top region and theslots are dimensioned and shaped so that the slots do not pass acrossthe impact zones specified in International Safety Standard EN812.
 5. Ashell as claimed in either one of claims 3 or 4 wherein said slots areof a width sufficient to enable the lateral regions to be flexed towardsand away from the top region to thereby effectively alter the size ofthe shell to enable the shell to accommodate a range of head sizes.
 6. Ashell as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein said slots extendforwards over a greater proportion of the front-to-back length of theshell.
 7. A shell as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, whereinthe shell material is a plastics material.
 8. A shell as claimed inclaim 7 wherein the shell material is one of: ABS, polypropylene, PVC,or polyethylene.
 9. A shell as claimed in any one of the precedingclaims, made by injection moulding.
 10. A shell for fitting within aheadcap to provide a degree of protection from impacts, said shell beingformed with a pair of slots, one on each side of the shell, each slotopening into the front side of the shell and extending in a generallyfront-to-back direction towards the back of the shell, and being such asto enable the shell material on its opposite sides to mutually move, andthus alter the effective size of the shell.
 11. A shell as claimed inclaim 10 being of a generally concave shape, longer from front to backthan from side to side, in order to accommodate the shape of the humanhead.
 12. A shell as claimed in claim 11 wherein the slots effectivelydivide the shell into different regions, together making up said concaveshape: a top region extending, when worn, front to back over the top ofthe head and merging into a back region which extends, when worn, acrossthe back of the head and two lateral regions extending, when worn, frontto back across respective sides of the head and merging into the backregion, and wherein each slot separates a respective lateral region fromthe top region.
 13. Protective headgear comprising a headcap, theinterior of which is fitted with a shell as claimed in any one of thepreceding claims.
 14. Protective headgear as claimed in claim 13 whereinthe shell is secured within the headcap by means of Velcro pads, snapbuttons or pockets.
 15. Protective headgear as claimed in either one ofclaims 13 or 14 wherein the shell is lined with compressible material.16. Protective headgear as claimed in claim 15 wherein the compressiblematerial comprises a foam material.